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A 20-year-old man was sentenced to life without parole on Friday after being convicted of first degree murder in the 2019 Denver, Colo. High school shooting that killed and injured one eight others.
Devon Erickson, a former high school student, also received multiple 48-year sentences for attempted murder and extreme indifference to the surviving victims, District Court Judge Theresa Slade has ruled.
Prosecutors in the case said Erickson, joined by fellow student Alec McKinney, allegedly fired several bullets in a classroom at STEM School Highlands Ranch on May 7, 2019. The couple killed Kendrick Castillo, an elder from 18 years old, after trying to stop the attack. The shooting injured eight other students.
Parents, teachers and survivors of the shooting showed up in court ahead of sentencing on Friday to talk about how the event affected their lives, according to 9News, an NBC affiliate.
Maria Castillo, the mother of Kendrick Castillo, has asked the judge for the maximum sentence to be imposed on Erickson.
“I have been here for every procedure in this courtroom and have watched this demonic killer and he shows no remorse,” she said, according to local media. “He doesn’t deserve any mercy. So today, your honor, I ask you for the maximum sentence for this evil killer. “
She called her son Kendrick her “best friend”.
Erikson was convicted of 46 counts in June, including the murder of Castillo, according to the Associated Press. He was sentenced to life because of his age – 18 – at the time of the shooting.
McKinney, who was 16 at the time, received a life sentence last year. He will become eligible for parole after approximately 20 years in prison under a youth inmate program.
Prosectors said Erikson and McKinney entered a dark classroom of students watching a movie through two different doors in order to maximize the number of people they could kill, according to the AP. The couple reportedly wanted to design a “hero-victim” where McKinney would either die by suicide or be killed by Erickson.
However, his gun got stuck after firing several times before Castillo and two other students, Joshua Jones and Brendan Bialy, passed Erikson. A security guard apprehended McKinney.
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